~We have used technology to drill holes into all aspects of human life and so now its tentacles’ reach into areas it never had before.

~Have you noticed yet? There’s been a shift in our language from “gun control” (which can never be successful) to “gun safety” (which sounds better and appeals to people’s desire to be safe).

~If presidents Nixon (Watergate) and Reagan (Iran-Contra) had engaged in those activities today, they probably would be treated as minor events (Well, if the press were consistent). At least they should be in comparison with what Obama has done over the last 7 years of lawlessness.

~Genesis 2:24 speaks of a man leaving father and mother, not father and father or mother and mother, to join with his wife.

~We hear a lot of talk about “gun violence” (Do these guns somehow go off by themselves?). Do we ever hear talk about “knife violence,” bomb violence,” or “missile violence”?

~On Islamophobia: This piece compares the kind of xenophobia Catholics faced 100 years ago, with the kind that Muslims supposedly face today (see http://www.vox.com/2015/12/9/9880942/islamophobia-catholics). “The point of the comparison is not to say that the US faces the same problems today as it did a century ago, or that the discrimination toward Catholics back then and Muslims today is exactly the same. But when looking back at the history of the US, it’s easy to see a pattern of consistent xenophobia and fears of outsiders.” But is fear of others always irrational and wrong? Isn’t the fear of radical Islam well-founded today? In the past, Catholics had not demonstrated the kinds of violence and terrorism we are and have been seeing with Islam across the globe. Had Rome or Catholic agents from there bombed the Statue of Liberty in the early 20th century? Had Rome and its Catholic minions formed a caliphate exporting terrorism all over the world? The author concludes: “As Islamophobia rears its ugly head in the US again, it’s worth thinking about how we now look back on those moments of American history — and whether we’re making the same mistakes again.” The author cites no real evidence for this alleged Islamophobia; maybe because there isn’t any.

~Sometimes we conservative Catholics can throw the “heresy” charge at our fellow Catholics as much as liberals throw the “racism” charge at conservatives.

~The term “senseless violence” is thrown around by our president and others, especially after mass shootings like the one that took place in San Bernardino. But that makes it sound as if the killers had no purpose to achieve by what they were doing, i.e., they were simply crazed individuals. Sure, sometimes mental illness is involved. But many times, as with terrorist actions, the killers’ actions make perfect sense: they want to kill as many people as they can and instill as much fear in as many people as they can – all on behalf of their political and/or religious ideology. Every rational person who acts does so to realize some good – even those who do evil – even if the means he uses are morally wicked. Only when someone acts without a purpose or goal in mind can we say his activity is truly senseless.

~“Stop-and-frisk” = the best gun control policy.

~Keke Palmer, the 22-year-old star of Grease: Live was quoted recently as proclaiming, “I’m making the rules for myself, and I don’t have to be stuck down to one [sexual orientation] label. I don’t feel the need to define nothin’ to nobody, because I’m always changing. Why say that I’m this or that when I might not be tomorrow?” (http://www.etonline.com/news/178198_keke_palmer_talks_rumors_about_her_sexualityrefuses_labels/). Making up her own “rules”? Now isn’t that an unusual way to describe one’s own “sexuality”? We don’t follow human nature or a created order, but our own subjective “rules.” On Monday she’s a lesbian, Wednesday a bisexual, and on the weekend a “straight.” It’s enough to give her “partner” (and her) a case of schizophrenia.

~There are so many politicians and pundits who claim to know what ISIS wants. How do they know this?

~I’ve begun to notice something…The difference in the way women (and even men) pose for pictures today (whether in groups or as individuals), compared to how they did 50 plus years ago. Today, everyone’s a model – arms-on-hips, beaming smiles, no stranger to the camera. Several generations ago, you’d observe a certain reserve and bashfulness. Not anymore, largely thanks to the cell phone.

~Unless we’re talking about moral perfection or holiness, the search for perfection can be downright imperfect – even idolatrous.

~Here’s another good reason to be Catholic: Instead of celebrating Christmas on only 1 day, Catholics celebrate it for (at least) 8 (See also Gretchen Filz, “Does Christmas End on Epiphany?” https://www.catholiccompany.com/getfed/does-christmas-end-on-epiphany/). In addition to an 8-day Christmas Day, the Christmas Season extends into mid- January!